Duct system



F. w. FOISY July 3, 1945.

DUCT SYSTEM- Fil ed Dec. 10, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 v JNVENTOR July 3, 1945- F. w. FOISY DUCT SYSTEM 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. -1o, 1942 Patented July 3, 1945- U ST Francis W. Foisy, yBrighton,-Mass., 'assignor to Delbrook' Ventilating Co.,.: Cambridge, corporation. of iMassachusetts v Masa, a

Application December 10, 1942tSeria'lNo.468,471

3 Claims.

more particularly to 'a ventilating system and to'alswivel connection for use in such systems. 'The invention has for an object to providea novelduct'system and particularly a ventilating system for exhausting dust and fume laden air, embodying a novel swivel connection by which one section of the duct system, such as the lower inlet section, may be moved todifferent lccationswith minimum effort. The novel swivel ccnnectionunit is of a. construction which may be economically manufactured, easily ine stalled and replaced and the operating parts thereof adjusted ina simple manner. 7 .;With this general object in view, and such others as may hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the swivel connection and :in the various structures, arrangements and combinations of parts, hereinafter described and particularly defined in theclaims at the end of this specification. H l

n the drawings illustrating the preferred em- (01528544973)? 'Ihis invention relates 'to' afduct system" 1 members" in one sectionada'pted to be received in a track or raceway provided in its connecting section ,soia's to reduce. the friction of'thecontacting parts toar'ninimum and'to permit movemerit" of thehoodedsection' from one position to anothenwith'ajrninii'nuin ofrfiefi'ort, even in relativelylarge and heavy installations.

' "Another feature 'pf the' inventicn resides in the 'construction'fotthe swivel connection by which itj'm ay befea'sily; embodied in a piping system; flanged portionsfbeing' preferably provid' edati'each endioi thetswiveled unit-for attachment. to (:brres'ponding-fianged portions provided on the-connecting pipes; Withv this construction; it is unnecessary I to cut out sections of pipe to; befreplace'd "by new, s'ections'tele- 'scopedtogetheijasl is the present practice when b odiinent ofthe invention, Fig. l is aside elevation of anair inlet portion of .an exhaustsystem embodying the present invention; Fig. 2-is.,a

plan viewof the same; Figs. 3 and 4 are plan and side elevations respectively of the present swivel connecti0n,.portions being broken: away to more clearly illustrate the invention; Fig. 5 is a par..- tial plan gview illustrating a modified form of the present swivel connection; Fig. ,6 is an enlarged detail view in cross section taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 3'; Fig 7 is av cross sectional view taken on the line 1--1 of Fig. 6; Fig. 8vis a cross sectional view taken on the line B'-8 of Fig.5; andFig, 9' is a cross sectional detail. view oi a modified construction, to. be referred, to.

In general, the present invention contemplates a novel and superior construction of :a. swivel connection foruse generally in a piping or duct system, herein illustrated asan exhausting system-, having a suctionduct or'hood designed to bemoved to'different points of service. For example,,the invention contemplates an installatipn;v in a foundry where atone time. the .hood may be positioned over an electric furnace and at another time, positioned/over :the. mould to collectand draw away the fumes: therefrom;

I In prior similarventilating systems having movable duct portions of this chara'cter,-,the swivel joints, so farfas I am aware, comprise sections-fitted together vwith a relatively large area of each section in frictional contact so-that such prior connections are exceedingly d iflicult to-move or rock from one operating positionto another and, because of such frictional engagement, are subject'to rapid and excessive wear and require frequent replacement.--=In-accord ance with' the presentinvention the swivel connectionincludes. a .plurality' of anti' f'rlction replacingagswiyeljconnection unit. Other features include "a noyelfmountingj for the antifrictioninemb'ers whereby they" may be adjusted 'tocbtain" a uniform bearing of all the, rollers against "the track surface as will be hereinafter more iulj y described.

Reiernngnoiv totthe drawihgs which illustrate the inventionas embodied in. a ventilating system, 'Fig'. 1 represents the movable portioniof an exhaust system in which Ill indicates a suction hood attached to an angularly,.disposedduct 1'2 swivelly connected at its upper end'tc ansec- 0nd duct 'I4 jby "a swivel connection indicated generallynatfl'fil The swivel" connection 16, at this. DQint). permits revolution o'f-the duct l2 in anjarc as indicateditoenable the hood H] to be swung to' different positions. practice, at least two, swivel'connectionsf are preferably employed" in" an installation, and, as herein shown, the duct 'li iflisjalsofangnlarly disposed and provid'ed' at its' upper end. with. auswivel connection l 1 which. permits "revolution, of the entire unit .soj-that'gin'ijfoperation, it" will be observed-that vthefjsuction'neon. it: maybe positioned in M tic'all'y any: point within the maximum 7 radius describedi'by theextendedfangular ducts; l;2 and 1 41.: posmonser the ducts are indicated infiddtte'd linesinfFigsl and 2, the swivel conqi fl e i in r ta i 9 bod l v v the zconnectio n lfi abou t the center A; and, the swivelfconnection de -permitting revolution-- of .the hood. lfl about .the. center B, as clearly shown in: E 2. The swivel connection l l connects the movab eportion of thexexhaustsystem 'toa v r a O du leadi th exhaustjiam not'sticwmand; theunit'm'ay be sup,-

ported at a point above-the swivel. connection I! usua e rrediman er, her insh' wn as by v a; collar 22rclamped about the, :stationary portion. of the swivel uconnecticn 1-1:? and: con,- nficted luyansle n embers 325 toan l-beam 26 fi min arm; of the bu-ilding; structure; 7' The oyerhung portion: DI; the; unit ,mayi also be supone end to a collar 30 on the duct [4 and connected at its other end to a pointabove provided with a swivel joint, not shown, to permit rotation of the rod 28 with the unit whereby to relieve the swivel connection I! of some of the strain of the overhung portion. However, such collateral support may be eliminated if desired since the present swivel connection is designed to support a relatively large and heavy overhung portion without undue strain thereon and at the same time permitting rotationthereof with a minimum of effort. A hand wheel 31 may be provided on the duct 12 adjacent the hood ID, as shown, for convenience in moving v the duct.

portions 44 provided On adjacent pipe sections in the assembled unit as shown 'in Fig. 1. The flanged portions of a swivel connection may be formed integrally with the pipe section as indicated at 40, or, an annular lan'g'le piece may be welded or otherwise secured to the pipe section as indicated at 42. Thus, a swivelconn'e'ction unit may be easily and quickly assembled with the ducts, and, when replacementis' required it is merely necessary to remove the bolts holding the flanges together and inserting a new unit without cutting or replacing any" of the main P pe structures.

As illustrated in Fig. 4, the annular raceway 36 is disposed in an outwardly extending or offset portion comprising an upper wall 46, a vertical wall 48 and a lower wall forming a protective covering for the rollers outside the main duct area. With this construction, the swivel connec tion permits a substantially'uniform duct area to be maintained in the two sections 32, 34 so as not to impede the passage of 'dust and gases therethrough and also. serves to protectthe track and rollers from direct contact with the foreign matter passing through the ducts.

The height of the raceway 36 is preferably approximately equal to the diameter'of the rollers 38 with suificient clearance to assure free running thus preventing tipping or vertical displacement of one section with relation to the other. In operation, the rollers 38 may bearagainst either the upper wall 46 or the lower wall independme upon the strain imposed by the depending and overhanging portion of the duct. Provision is also made for preventing lateral displacement of one section with respect to the other and, as herein shown, an annular rod 52,-circular in cross section, may be welded to the lower wall 50 to form a guide against which the roller edges may engage. A modified form of lateral-guide is illustrated in Fig.9 wherein the'raceway'36 may be formed by an annular member 54, U-shaped in cross section, and welded to a flanged portion 56 extending from the cylindrical section'32, the upper leg 58 of the 'U-shaped member being positioned to form a guide for theupper edge of the roll 38. Thus, the swivel section 34 is guided ported, as illustrated, by a rod 28 connected at in the raceway 36 in a manner such as to prevent both vertical and lateral displacement thereof and provides an efiicient connection capable of being rotated ,to present the air inlet hood ill from one position of operation to another with a minimum of effort.

While the above described structures for preventing lateral movement of the lower section 34 with respect to the upper section 32 are highly satisfactory in most installations, it may be desired in some instances, particularly in a system having unusually large and heavy ducts, to

provide horizontally mounted rollers 60, as illustrated in Figs. 5 and 8, for engagement with the vertical wall 48 of the raceway 36. In such instances, it is preferred to alternate the rollers about the circumference of the track, having first a vertically mounted roller 38 for engagement with the lower wall56 and then a horizontally mounted roller 60 for engagement with the vertical wall 48 and so on around the track. In the latter embodiment of the invention, the guide rod 52 may be eliminated.

.As illustrated in detail in Figs. 6 and 7, each roller 38 is carried by an eccentric bushing 62 adjus'tably mounted upon a bolt 64 received in and radially extending from the upper edge of the cylindrical section 34. A reenforcing bar or ring 66 may be provided around the upper edge of the section 34 into which the threaded end of the bolt 64 extends, and, a washer 68 may be provided under the head of the bolt, as shown. The fixed ball race 10 of the ball bearing roller 38 may be pressed onto the eccentric portion 12 of the bushing 62 to form an integral part thereof. With this construction, the eccentric mounting permits adjustment of the roller center so as to cause all the rollers to bear uniformly against their adjacent track surface and to thus bear their individual share of the load. For example, where the center of gravity of the depending portion of the duct substantially coincides with the axis line of the swivel unit, all of the rollers may be accurately adjusted to bear evenly against the lower wall 50 of the track. The utility of this featurewill be apparent from consideration of a condition where if the center of an intermediate roller 38 were slightly higher than the two adjacent rollers on either side, it will be seen that the intermediate roller would merely ride around without engaging the track thus causing an extra load to be placed on the adjacent rollers. In the illustrated exhaust system, where there is a considerable overhang of the depending portion, it will be seen that those rollers situated on that side of the axis line of the unit which is remote from the center of gravity of the overhanding portion of the duct, will bear against the u per wall 46 of the track due to the turning movement exerted on the movable section of the duct, while those rollers nearest the overhanging portion will bear against the lower wall 50 of the track. Since the rollers are carried by the depending portion, it will be seen that this relationship is maintained during the rotation thereof so that adjustment of the rollers to bear uniformly against their respective surfaces will maintain the depending portion in a uniform position during revolution thereof and assure smooth and efficient operation. The ball bearing rollers 38 may and preferably will be of the type provided with sealing rings indicated at 14 to render the'bearings substantially dust proof.

In order to assemble the roller units and to permit adjustment thereof, the vertical wall 48 of the raceway is'provided with an access opening 16 which may be closed by a cover member 18. A detachable segmental guide piece 80 is provided for the lower wall 50 adjacent the access opening to form a continuation of the guide rod 52 and which may be removed during the assembling operation. With this construction, it will be seen that a roller unit may be inserted through the access opening and attached to the pipe section 34 whereupon the latter is rotated to present the succeeding point of attachment adjacent the access opening. In order to facilitate adjustment of the rollers, as above described,

the eccentric member 62 is provided with an hex- In addition to serving as a convenient means of assembling, adjusting and replacing ball bearing units in the swivel connection, the access opening also provides a convenient opening for lubricating and cleaning the track and rollers.

As above described, the present swivel structure is preferably formed outside the path of travel of the gases and foreign matter passing through the ducts so that accumulation of such foreign matter in'the track 36 is reduced to a minimum. It will also be observed that the track structure is formed so as to, prevent any condensate which forms on the interior wall of the upper pipe section 32 and connecting ducts, from entering into the track or raceway. As herein shown, the upper section 32 overhangs the inner edge 5| of the lower wall 50 so that any condensate dripping off the upper section 32 will fall outside the track area or run down the outer wall of the lower section 34. Thus, the raceway 36 is maintained substantially free from dirt and moisture.

and of substantially the diameter thereof, said sleeve having a U-shaped circular track portion at its lower end extended radially outwardly therefrom with the open mouth ofthe U-shaped portion disposed inwardly, a second sleeve secured to the upper end of the lower ventilator I v the combination of an upper pipe section, a lower pipe section and a swivel unit interposed between and secured to said upper-and lower pipe sections, said swivel unit comprising an upper sleeve secured to the lower end of the .upper pipesection and of substantially the diameter thereof, said sleeve having a U-shaped circular track portion at itslower end extended radially outwardly therefrom with the open mouth of the U-shaped portion disposed inwardly, a second sleeve secured to the upper end of the lower ventilator pipe section and of substantially the diameter of the upper sleeve, said second sleeve having its upper end disposed in a plane common to said U-shaped track and carrying a series of circumferentially spaced rollers received in said track and having their axes disposed perpendicular to the axis of said second sleeve whereby to rotatably suspend said second sleeve and its associated ventilator pipe section with respect to said upper sleeve and its associated ventilator pipe section, and guiding means mountedupon said U-shaped portion of the circular track cooperating with said-rollers for preventing outward movement From the above description, it will be observed ,that the present ventilating or exhausting sysnection is adapted for general use in other types of piping and duct systems where one portion is desired to be rocked with relation to the other.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been herein illustrated and described,

it will be understood that the invention may be,

embodied in other forms within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is: I

1. In a ventilator conduit of the type composed of a plurality of connected metal pipe sections,

the combination of an upper pipe section, a lower pipe section and a swivel unit interposed between and secured to said upper and lower pipe sections, said swivel unit comprising an upper sleeve secured to the lower end of the upper pipe section ferentially spaced rollers received in said track and having their axes disposed perpendicular to the axis of said second sleeve whereby to rotatably suspend said second sleeve and its associated ventilator pipe section with respect to said u per sleeve and its associated ventilator pipe section, a

thereof.

3. In a ventilator conduit of the type composed of a plurality of connected metal pipe sections,

the combination of an upper pipe section, a lower pipe section and a swivel unit interposed between and secured to said upper and lower pipe sections, said swivel unit comprising an uppersleeve secured to the lower end of the upper pipe section and of substantially the diameter thereof, said sleeve having a U-shaped circular track portion at its lower end extended radially outwardly therefrom with the open mouthof the U-s'haped portiondisposed inwardly, a second sleeve secured to the upper end of the lower ventilator pipe section and of substantially the diameter of the upper sleeve, said second sleeve having its upper end disposed in a plane common to said U-shaped track and carrying a series of circumsaid second sleeve having a series of circumferentially spaced rollers mounted thereon received in said track and cooperating with the irmer surface of the outer wall thereof and having their axes disposed parallel to the axis of said second sleeve.

FRANCIS W. FOI SY. 

